I love travelling.
I love Shimla.
I love travelling to and living in Shimla.
Ergo, this photo-blog is dedicated to Shimla. Mostly.

Why this blog is called "Gallimaufry".

gal-uh-MAW-free\, noun.

Originally meaning "a hash of various kinds of meats," "gallimaufry" comes from French galimafrée; in Old French, from the word galer, "to rejoice, to make merry"; in old English: gala + mafrer: "to eat much," and from Medieval Dutch maffelen: "to open one's mouth wide."

It's also a dish made by hashing up odds and ends of food; a heterogeneous mixture; a hodge-podge; a ragout; a confused jumble; a ridiculous medley; a promiscuous (!) assemblage of persons.

Those of you who know me, will, I’m sure, understand how well some of these phrases (barring the "promiscuous" bit!) fit me.

More importantly, this blog is an ode to my love for Shimla. I hope to show you this little town through my eyes. If you don't see too many people in it, forgive me, because I'm a little chary of turning this into a human zoo.

Stop by for a spell, look at my pictures, ask me questions about Shimla, if you wish. I shall try and answer them as best as I can. Let's be friends for a while....

16 February 2010

Oh, the brave Music of a distant Drum!

The concept of drums is as old as mankind. A drum also called a membranophone, is an instrument that creates sound when a person strikes a stretched membrane with their hands or some type of object, usually a rounded stick.Drums consist of a hollowed-out piece (the body), a membrane stretched over the end of the drum, and occasionally (but not necessarily) tuning keys or pegs which tighten or loosen the membrane to achieve different tones. It is this membrane and its vibration which reates the sound when struck.Drums first appeared as far back as 6000 BC. Mesopotamian excavations unearthed small cylindrical drums dated 3000 BC. Several wall markings found in caves in Peru show drums used in various aspects of societal life. The American Indians used gourd and wooden constructed drums for their rituals and ceremonies. Drums have always been used for more than merely creating music.In India, percussion instruments too have a long history. We have both the two-faced drums such as the dhol, the dholak, the pakhawaj or the mirdangam as well as the single-faced ones like the tabla or the drums in the pictures which accompany this post.I found these drums in temples in different places - in Mahu Nag, in Janog, in Cheekad, in Mamleshwar. The texture of the skin contrasted enchantingly with the colours of the temples walls in the background: ochre, cinnamon and sienna standing in stark contrast to the turquoise that is so favoured for temple colouring all over Himachal!

And as I end this post, I'm reminded of that great poet Jon Bon Jovi's lines!!

Bang a drum for the sinnersBang a drum for the sinsBang a drum for the losersBang a drum for those who winBang a dum bang it loudlyOr as soft as you need Bang a drum for yourselfAnd a drum for me.

3 comments:

What a beautiful blue! Speaking of Peru, I noticed you've got Machhu Pichhu on your agenda...I've had the privilege to go there years ago and it was beautiful. Folks there are very similar to us - family values et al and they very often talk to Indians in Spanish (we look like each other I guess!). Best of all, when told I'm Indian, they were delighted and mentioned the 2 Indian things they knew best..."Gandhi" and "Kamasutra"!! :) There's a blog called "An American in Lima" - quite nice. Sorry....strayed off topic here!

Me.Me.Me.

A Request

The photographs and most of the text on this blog are the sole property of the author. Please do not use them without her permission.To do so will invite all sorts of retribution: ranging from being slapped with a handbag to hearing from the author's lawyers (who're a dreadful mix of Tulkinghorn, Grewgious, Grimwig, Heep and Jaggers).Worse yet, the author may subject you to a reading of her poems.You don't want that.